IN SUMMARY
MANY VERSIONS, BUT ONLY ONE TRUTH
Recent political changes in the United States have reawakened old fears and uncomfortable truths. The return of a leadership style rooted in polarization, stereotypes, and media manipulation has led many to reflect on the historical distortions that have shaped the narrative of the “West” as civilizing and modern. In this context, it becomes essential to reexamine what we’ve been taught, what has been hidden from us, and what history, in time, inevitably reveals.
HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS
For centuries, history was written by the conquerors, not by the conquered. Eurocentrism, as Enrique Dussel has denounced, not only constructed an exclusive narrative but also imposed a hierarchy of cultures. Europe proclaimed itself as the origin of rational thought, science, and progress, denying or minimizing the contributions of civilizations such as China, Egypt, India, Mesopotamia, or the Indigenous cultures of the Americas.
AUTHORS WHO UNCOVER TRUTHS
Samir Amin, Aníbal Quijano, and Walter Mignolo, among others, have demonstrated that so-called European modernity was built through the appropriation of external knowledge and the subordination of other worlds. Printing, medicine, navigation, astronomy, and modern agriculture owe much more to non-European civilizations than Western textbooks are willing to admit. But acknowledging this does not serve the discourse of cultural supremacy that sustains many political and economic projects to this day.
Most troubling is that those who spread these falsehoods often end up convincing their audiences, thereby solidifying myths that reinforce their power.
LEADERS WHO LIE
In today’s United States, discourses reemerge that blame migrants, romanticize imperial pasts, and deny structural racism. But these narratives have deep roots: they are nourished by centuries of historical distortion and colonial pedagogy. The idea that North America is the sole epicenter of human progress is merely another way to forget the richness and dignity of other peoples. In doing so, they diminish themselves in the eyes of history.
LET’S REVIEW HISTORY
Revising history is not an ideological whim. It is an act of justice—not to punish the victors, but to honor the silenced. Today, as some governments build walls, seal borders, and demonize ‘the other,’ it is worth remembering that history breaks through, that suppressed truths eventually rise, and that ignorance is not an unbreakable wall.
THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON: TRUTH
The political shifts in the United States should be an opportunity not only to ask where we are going, but also to reflect on where we come from and what lies we have carried along the way. History, though often late, restores truths. They are not always recognized in life, but they endure. And when heard, they have the power to dismantle empires.
Alfredo Cuéllar is a professor, international consultant, and specialist in Micropolitics, governance, and international relations. He has taught at universities in the United States and Latin America, including Harvard University.
Contact: alfredocuellar@me.com
